David Whitley finds that there’s more to New Zealand than its magnificent landscapes
Like this and want more details? Click here to download and save as a PDF.
For many visitors, New Zealand is about the scenery. And quite rightly so – few countries are as photogenic. But beyond the mountains, fjords and volcanic sand beaches, there is a rich, complex culture to discover.
Generally, the North Island comes up trumps for cultural attractions – particularly Maori experiences – but intriguing heritage sites are spread throughout the country. We’ve picked 10 of the best.
Rotorua Maori experience
The most popular spot for a taste of Maori culture tends to be Rotorua, a city where geothermal activity and an egg-like sulphur smell pervade. Evening experiences based around meals cooked in a hangi (earth oven) act as a slickly-produced sampler course. They generally include Maori dance performances, traditional nose-rubbing welcome ceremonies and the famous haka. Just don’t fall into the trap of thinking this represents modern, everyday Maori life.
Book it: The Tamaki Tours hangi and concert experience in the Te Tawa Ngahere Pa village is available with Austravel from £57.
The East Cape
Rotorua tends to be the hub for Maori entertainment, but it can feel a little theme park-esque for some tastes. The real Maori heartland is the North Island’s relatively remote East Cape, where traditional village life goes on largely undisturbed by visitors. You won’t get any shows, but you do get the opportunity to talk to locals in pubs, watch fishermen pull in their catch and possibly get invited into the local marae (meeting house) for a look around.It’s low on infrastructure, but high on authenticity. The coastline between Whakatane and Gisborne makes for spectacular drive, while there’s also the opportunity to hand-feed stingrays from the beach at Tatapouri.
Book it: Stray sells a budget four-day East Bro Pass around the East Cape for about £168.
Waitangi and the Bay of Islands
Just across the bridge from the Bay Of Islands’ main tourist hub Paihia, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds are where modern New Zealand was born. The visitor centre covers the history of the agreement between the Maori and Pakeha (European settlers) – as well as the poorly translated founding document’s lingering controversies. Further up, at the northern tip of the country is Cape Reinga, which is where Maoris believe spirits depart for the underworld after death. There’s a blustery, end-of-the-world feel to the clifftops.
Book it: Travel 2 offers a three-day Essential Bay of Islands coach tour from Auckland, including Cape Reinga and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, from £459.
Art deco Napier
Out of New Zealand’s deadliest natural disaster, something remarkable was born. The 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake killed 256 people and reduced the city of Napier to rubble. The rebuilding, however, was done in the style of the day. Art deco was cheap as well as fashionable, and vast swathes of the new-look city suddenly looked like a distinctively Kiwi take on Miami’s South Beach. The National Tobacco Building is the artistic highlight, but it’s the sheer concentration of art deco buildings that makes Napier so visually stunning. It’s worth taking time to look for local details such as fern leaf motifs among the dazzling uniformity.
Book it: 1st Class Holidays sells two-and-a-half hour Napier Whirlwind Tours, with a heavy architecture focus, for £36.
Te Papa museum
If you spend time in just one city, Wellington is the most appealing. Small scale, and with a spectacular natural setting, it’s New Zealand’s liveliest cultural hub. The best introduction to the country is Te Papa, the spectacular waterfront national museum. It could easily suck up a couple of days. The most gripping section focuses on the country’s tumultuous geology, delving into the earthquakes, volcanoes and crunching tectonic plates that make for such a startling landscape. But the sections tracing the origins of the Maori, through oral history, traditional legend and scientific research on their ancestral journey through the Pacific Islands, are hugely enlightening too.
Book it: No need – entry is free.
Work in progress Christchurch
Serious earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 ravaged Christchurch, which had always been the most English of New Zealand’s cities. The rebuilding process has seen the city take on a cooler, more creative edge, with temporary venues and cultural spaces popping up – sometimes in shipping containers. Christchurch is also the leaping-off point for many Antarctic expeditions, and among the crowd-pleasing penguins and ice storm simulations, the International Antarctic Centre does a cracking job of explaining what life is like in the Antarctic stations.
Book it: 1st Class Holidays sells a three-in-one package including the International Antarctic Centre, Air Force Museum and Willowbank Nature Reserve for £93, plus a Christchurch Rebuild tour for £26.
Larnach Castle
The southeastern corner of New Zealand has a distinctly Scottish taste to it – especially in Dunedin and the nearby Otago Peninsula. Nowhere is this more apparent than at Larnach Castle, where a 19th-century businessman decided to build a home in keeping with his ancestry. It’s now preserved as a period piece – with antique furniture and decoration – and the sort of pristine gardens usually associated with British stately homes. The tours of the castle are great for tales of scandal and tragedy – founder William Larnach committed suicide inside the New Zealand parliament building. It’s also possible to stay overnight or have afternoon tea.
Book it: Accommodation at Larnach Castle starts from £76 a night, and tours cost £14.
Hillary’s training ground
The appeal of Mount Cook/Aoraki – New Zealand’s highest mountain – is largely natural. But among the photogenic peaks, glaciers and shimmering blue Alpine lakes is one of New Zealand’s most entrancing museums. As part of the Hermitage hotel complex, the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre delves into the life and exploits of the first man to climb Everest. Among the heroic tales of Antarctic expeditions and jet-boating down the Ganges are plenty of insights into an often cripplingly shy character whose life was touched by tragedy. That an airport is named after him in Nepal – where his wife and daughter died in a plane crash – seems particularly dark.
Book it: Accommodation at the Hermitage starts from £48 per person per night with Kuoni. Great Sights runs Mount Cook day tours from Queenstown and Christchurch, from £92.
Farm life
New Zealand became rich on the back of the wool and lamb industries, and an introduction to sheep farm life can be found at Walter Peak. The farm is reached via a scenic cruise on the Earnslaw steam ship across Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown, and once there, sheepdog and shearing demonstrations are put on as entertainment.
Book it: Anzcro offers an Earnslaw cruise and Walter Peak farm tour for £51 per adult and £15 per child.
Lord of the Rings
Mention New Zealand and before long someone will start talking about Lord Of The Rings. Filming of this epic trilogy took part all over the country, but a number of the key scenes were shot on the South Island around Queenstown. The beech forest near Glenorchy doubled as Lothlorien, while the Ford of Bruinen river crossing into Rivendell is near Arrowtown and Gandalf rode up to Isengard along the Rees-Dart track in the Mount Aspiring National Park.
Book it: Anzcro sells Safari of the Scenes tours from Queenstown for from £106. It also offers trips to the Hobbiton village set from Rotorua, from £46.
